Mail-box signal.



PATENTED FEB. 4, 190a,

- T. G. BROWN.

MAIL BOX SIGNAL.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 18, 1907.

umcmu. b. c.

THURSTON BROWN, OF BUGKLAND, VIRGINIA.

MAIL-BOX SIGNAL. 1

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 4, 1908.

Application filed May 18,1907. Serial No. 374.47%

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THURSTON G. BROWN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Buckland, county of Prince William, State of Virginia, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Box Signals; and Ido hereby declare the following to. be a full, clear, andexactdescription of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

The invention relates to signals for mail boxes and the like and moreparticularly to semaphore signals of a character usually employed uponrural delivery mail boxes, to indicate to both the owner and the carrierwhether the box contains mail or whether it is empty, the signal beingdisplayed when the box contains mail and being retracted when the box isempty.

The government requires that each rural delivery mail box be providedwith a signal adapted to be moved into exposed position by anyperson,either the carrier or the owner, who deposits mail in the box toindicate to a person authorized to take the deposited mail from the box,that the mail is present therein.

It has been common heretofore .to use various forms of pivoted semaphoreor flaglike signals capable of being moved manually from retracted toexposed position or vice versa, butwith signals of this type muchtrouble and annoyance has arisen owing to unauthorized persons operatingthe signal either to indicate the presence of mail in the box or theabsence of mail therefrom. "When the signal is displayed and no mail isin the box the carrier or the owner is put to the inconvenience ofunlocking and examining the box, unnecessarily, and, on the other hand,should there be mail in the box and the signal be maliciously withdrawn,the mail frequently remains for a long period of time in the box,whether said mail be ingoing or outgoing, for the reason that neitherthe carrier nor owner would inspect the box to ascertain the presence ofmail if the signal were not exosed. e p vIt has. been suggested that thesignal be provided with means for looking it in exposed position toprevent it being tampered 'with when the box contained mail, but it isobvious that this proposition does not meet the contingency arising frommalicious persons moving the signal from retracted to exposed positionwhen no mail is in the box.

Furthermore, the locking means, as heretofore proposed, have beencomplicated and expensive, and, therefore, have not-met with popularfavor.

It is the purpose of the present invention to provide a simple, cheapand efficient arrangement for locking the signal in both its retractedand exposed positions by the mere operation of moving the box closure toclosed position, and, inasmuch as the signal and its appurtenances arecapable of application to any of the well known types of mail boxes, itis believed that the invention will supply an urgent need.

In the accompanying drawings Figure l is a sectional view of the closureend of a mail box having the invention applied thereto and showing thesignal locked in exposed position; Fig. 2 is a corresponding viewshowing the signal locked in retracted position; Fig. 3 is a horizontalplan view showing the signal locked in retracted position; Fig. 4 is acorresponding view showing a slightly modified form of signal arm.

Referring to the drawings aindicates the mail box, which may be of anydesired or convenient form to meet the requirements of the Governmentwith respect to rural delivery boxes In the particular box illus trated,there is provided at one end a hinged door Z) adapted to swing outwardlyand downwardly to open the box, and provided with edge flanges on itssides and top, the

former engaging the sides of the box, and the latter cooperating with ahorizontal flange in the gable of the box and provided with an orifice cregistering with the corresponding orifice in the gable flange toreceive a suitable lock to secure the door in closed position.

Pivot-ally mounted in the side of the box is a signal. arm 6, which maybe conveniently constructed with a rectangular bend on its outer portionto the end of which is secured a semaphore or flag The inner end of thearm 0 is likewise provided with a cranked arm h, and between the twocranked portions the rod or arm 6 is provided with a bend 9 whichconstitutes a stop to limit the movement of the arm in both directions.The outboard bearing of the arm or rod 6 is conveniently formed by astrap i adapted to be secured by rivets or other suitable fasteningmeans to the outside of the box, and the inboard bearing of said arm orrod is formed by a yoke 7' generally Ushaped and secured to the insideof the box, preferably by the tion.

side of the box is pierced, at an appropriate point, with a holesomewhat larger than the diameter of the rod 6. The plate 11 is threadedover the end of the rod, after which the latter is passed through thehole in the box, and the yoke j is then passed over the cranked end h.The rivets are then passed through the registering orifices in thestrapi, the box, and the feet of the yoke and secured in'position, as clearlyindicated in the several figures. phore or signalis pivotally secured tothe box and is limited in its movement in either direction by the bendor stop g, which engages the sides of the yoke alternately.

Mounted upon the inside of the door or closure 1) is a second yoke m,which is preferably of U form, having a rear face and a bottom facesubstantially at right angles'to each other,'the former of which facesengages the side of the cranked end 7L ofthe signal arm when the signalis retracted and locks the same rigidly in such retracted position, saidarm being held between the stop 9, which engages the side of yoke on thebox, and the cranked arm h, which engages the vertical face of yoke m,when the door isclosed. When -mail has been deposited in the box thesignal or semaphore is moved to exposed position, as indicated inFig. 1. When the door is closed the signal is rigidly locked inthis'position between the lower face of the yoke m, which engagestheside of the cranked arm h, and the stop g, which engages the forwardinner edge of the yoke It will be observed, therefore, that the signalis positively locked by the mere act of closing the door, whether saidsignal be in exposed or retracted position, and when the door has beensecured by the usual locking means, the signal cannot be again moveduntil the door is opened by a person-having a proper key to open the boxclosure.

Fig. 4 illustrates a slight modification of the invention, which differsfrom that heretofore described merely in the details of con struction ofthe signal or semaphore arm. In the modification the arm is preferablymade of separable sections, consisting of a shaft or pintle 6 having anouter portion of reduced diameter, Which forms, wlththe inner portion, ashoulder to provide a stop to limit the outward movement of said pintlewhen it is inserted in the opening in the box. The lock or stop g, whichcooperates with yoke j to limit the movement of the signal in eitherdirection is conveniently formed as a pin or lug, which may be eitherformed integrally with the shaft 6 or attachedthereto in any convenientmanner. Upon the outer By this means the semaend .of the shaft 6 thereis secured an angularly disposed arm a, to which the flag or semaphoreis attached. The inner end of shaft .or pintle e is provided with acranked arm h, of the same general character as that .hereinbeforedescribed, which cooperates with yoke 'm on the box closure'b.

Although the signal has been particularly described with reference to abox having an end closure or door, it will be understood that it is notlimited in its application "to a box of this character, but is capableofbeing employed with boxes having any type of movable closure, whetherthe latter be hinged or sliding, and whether it be located on the top,bottom or side of the box. -'It is alsoto be observed that the signaland itslocking means are not limited to the particular construction andarrangement hereinbefore described, as I regard it as broadly newtoprovide a signal for mail boxes and the like which is adapted to belocked ineitherexposed or retracted position by suitable meansassociated with the box closure.

What I claim is: i

1. A signal-for 'mail boxes and the like, comprising a semaphorepivotally mounted on the boxand means operated by the closing of the boxclosure to lock said signal'in exposed and retracted positions,respectively.

. 2. A signal for-mail boxes and the like, comprising a semaphorecarrying member adapted to be pivotally mounted onthe box, and means tobe associated with the box closure 'for locking saidarm in both theexposed and retracted positions of the semaphore.

3. A signal for mailboxes and the like, comprising a semaphore carryingmember adapted to be pivotally mounted on the box having an angularlydisposed'portion, and a detent to be associated with the box closure tocooperate with the said angular portion to lock the said arm in boththeexposedand-retracted-positions ofthe semaphore.

4. A signal for mail boxes and the like, comprising a semaphorecarrying'rod'having an angularly disposed arm and an intermediate stop,a yoke adapted to besecured to the box in whichthe arm is journaledand

